Reference is made to U.S. Document Disclosure Certificate Nos.: 449,115 recorded Dec. 22, 1998; 459911 recorded Jul. 30, 1999; 458876 recorded Jul. 5, 1999; 455008 recorded Apr. 19, 1999; and 455009 recorded Apr. 19, 1999; the entire contents of all such certificates incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of decorative jewelry items, and more particularly to the basic structural link element of a jewelry rope chain exhibiting attractive, decorative, and ornamental visual properties.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Rope chains are a popular type of jewelry made from linking a number of standard sized annular link elements together in a repetitive manner and usually soldering, welding, or otherwise bonding every two link elements together. The result is a chain that is flexible and pleasing to the eye. The annular link elements are typically formed of gold, silver, or other precious metal and may be round in cross section or may be rectangular in cross section with flat major side surfaces, depending on the method of manufacture. The overall generally circular configuration of the annular link elements is not complete as there must be a gap provided to permit interlinking, i.e. interconnecting, of the link elements with each other. The result is a link element having a generally C-shaped configuration.
The generally C-shaped link elements are fastened together in a particular way, such that tightly interlinking annular link elements give the appearance of a pair of intertwining helical rope strands. A number of annular link elements are connected and intertwined together in a systematic and repetitive pattern of orientation, resulting in an eye-pleasing, flexible, and delicate-appearing chain that looks and feels like a finely braided double helix.
In a conventional rope chain, the orientation pattern of individual link elements making up the rope chain is repeated every several link elements, for example every four link elements, and as such, the chain is referred to as a four-link rope chain. In an improvement to the conventional basic rope chain, it is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,517 that the link elements can be constructed in different and narrower dimensions so that the pattern is repeated every six link elements or even every eight link elements.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,498, to Chia et al., it is suggested that, by narrowing the cross-section of the link element, the six-link rope chain""s connected segments appear finer than those of the four-link version and consequently provide a more delicate and refined presentation than that obtainable with a four-link rope chain arrangement. While the ""517 patent uses a six-link rope chain as a preferred embodiment, that patent teaches the formulas for creating rope chains consisting of a repeated series of six, eight, or more link elements.
Some manufacturers of jewelry use different colored gold and silver elements to enhance the beauty of the jewelry article. Examples are: rope chains in which sets of link elements of one color alternate with sets of link elements of another color; and bracelets or necklaces constructed of interconnected twisted loops exhibiting alternating colors along their lengths. Gold, for example, is available in at least four colors; white, yellow, rose (pink), and green.
However, in typical prior art construction techniques for producing rope chain jewelry, each link element is of a single solid color, texture, shape, and pattern, e.g., each link element may be stamped from a solid thin sheet of precious metal, such as gold, in the form of an annular ring. While an all yellow gold rope chain or an all white gold rope chain is attractive, it is otherwise uninteresting due to the monotonic nature of its unvarying coloration, texture, and/or shape along the link elements of the chain. Those prior art rope chains that do exhibit variations of colors along their lengths nevertheless are constructed of individual link elements each of which is of a single solid color, texture, shape, and/or pattern.
Other chain-like jewelry articles exhibit variations of colors along their lengths using interconnected twisted loops, but they are not regarded as rope chains as defined herein.
Moreover, prior art link elements are generally C-shaped with a constant, typically rectangular cross section. As a result, predictable visual effect is realized when the C-shaped link elements are assembled to simulate intertwined rope helixes. Additionally, after all of the link elements have been assembled into a finished rope chain jewelry item, a large percentage of the total volume of precious metal in each link element is forever hidden from view. That is, for the structural integrity of the rope chain, certain dimensional parameters have to be maintained, and there have been few attempts in the prior art of manufacturing rope chains to reduce the amount of precious metals being used, for fear of lessening or destroying the structural integrity of the finished product.
The present invention provides the means and methods for constructing rope chain link elements in a way to produce a rope chain piece of jewelry in which each link element, or selected link elements, and therefore the rope chain itself, exhibits unique visual properties.
By providing individual link elements with different visual properties, including different shapes, the ultimate appearance of the completed rope chain can be determined. For example, if each individual link exhibits two colors, the resulting rope chain will exhibit those two colors. Since the link elements overlap, and since they are placed in predetermined positions when they are interlinked, the location of the colors will have an influence on the appearance of the finished product.
Coloration is only one type of xe2x80x9cvisual propertyxe2x80x9d, and may vary according to the type or formulation of the material or materials from which a link element is made. Reflectivity, surface texture, pattern feature or characteristic, in addition to shape, are among other visual properties of a link that can influence the appearance of a finished rope chain. Such unique visual property traits for the succession of link elements results in a more attractive, fanciful, more delicate and interesting fashion jewelry item.
In addition to exhibiting unique visual properties, employing the concepts of the present invention, lengths of rope chains can be fabricated in which one of the apparent strands of xe2x80x9cropexe2x80x9d has a different visual appearance than the intertwining xe2x80x9cropexe2x80x9d strand. That is, the appearance of a rope strand at any point along the length of rope chain may not only be visually different than another point along the length of rope chain, but may also be visually different than the adjacent strand. For example, one strand may have an apparent smaller diameter than that of the adjacent strand. Or, the texture, coloration, surface reflectivity, pattern, shape, or other physical attribute of one strand may be totally distinct relative to the adjacent strand.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the annular, or generally C-shaped, link elements may be formed by a stamping process whereby the desired visual effects on the link elements are preliminarily provided on the sheet of material from which the link elements are later stamped. Alternatively, especially when the visual property is surface texture or shape, the desired visual effects on the link elements may be created during or after the stamping process.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the annular, or generally C-shaped, link elements may be manufactured by bending a thin elongated wire of prescribed dimensions into the desired C-shape. The wire may be supplied on spools and formed by machine. For example, a Link-O-Matic(copyright) machine, such as the Model 534 available from Crafford Precision Products Co., One Industrial Court, Riverside, R.I. 02915, can feed, cut, and form a gapped, or non-gapped, link element each cycle of operation. The wire may undergo a preliminary surface texturing process, such as serrating, prior to being cut and formed into a link element by the machine, or the machine can form the link element and a subsequent surface texturing and/or coloration process may be employed.
The sheet of material may be fabricated from one or more species of the same substance (e.g., gold) or from a combination of substances (e.g., gold and silver). A first portion of the sheet may have a first visual property, and a second portion of the sheet may have a second visual property. Again, the visual property may be the result of coloration, reflectivity, surface texture, pattern feature or characteristic, or shape, or other visual property attribute that provides one portion of the resulting link with a different appearance than another portion of the link.
Importantly, as will be described in detail hereinafter, in the stamping process, in addition to die-cutting the outline for the overall generally C-shaped configured link element from the sheet of material provided, the die tools or devices may be fabricated to impress, on one or more of the major or side edge surfaces of the link element being die-cut, a surface texture or shape. That is, any surface or surface portion of the stamped link element may exhibit a desired surface texture or shape produced by an impression on, in, or to that surface by the tooling or device employed by the stamping process, effectively imprinting a desired shape, form, or finish.
Portions of a link element may also be shaped by the die-cutting action of the stamping machine.
As indicated, surface texturing may precede or follow the stamping process. However, simultaneous die-cutting and surface texturing is more efficient and is preferred.
After a link element is die-cut from the sheet of material, a subsequent pressure stamping process may be employed to impress designs or patterns on the side edges of the link element.
By interconnecting together a plurality of link elements made in accordance with the invention, a rope chain can be manufactured that exhibits visual properties in a distinctive and decorative pattern. Intermixing link elements exhibiting different visual properties in a particular sequence during assembly of the rope chain can likewise produce visually pleasing lengths of rope chain.
In the process of altering the physical shape of the individual link elements, simultaneously with the enhancement of the visual effect due to the texturing and/or shape altering techniques, small amounts of the precious metal making up the link elements are removed without reducing the effective dimensional characteristics of the elements and, therefore, without diminishing the structural integrity of the finished rope chain product.
Several examples of impressing lines (simulating scoring), serrations, depressions, and other patterns or designs are described in this specification. It should be appreciated that when impressions are made in a soft material, such as gold, during a pressure stamping process, there exists a physical displacement of the material previously occupying the depressed area. Thus, whatever material is pushed out of the depressed area moves to the adjacent regions, thereby making the thickness of the link element greater at such adjacent regions. This is significant, since a thinner sheet of material, at less cost, can be provided. For example, when creating a serrated major surface on a link element being pressure stamped, material pushed out of each groove of the serration necessarily moves into the space between the grooves, increasing the actual maximum thickness of the sheet of material. Again, the combination of enhanced beauty and lower material cost is realized.
Although not intended to be limiting, variations of the present invention, shown and described herein, are distinguished by a changing or varying cross section for portions of the link elements while maintaining at least a portion of at least some of the link elements at a standard sized cross section. Thus, a distinct and decorative rope chain of a given length may have the identical effective rope chain diameter as one made with standard sized C-shaped link elements of constant cross sectional area, and yet result in substantial manufacturing cost savings due to less material being used in the manufacture of each individual link element, aside from the savings realized by forming the link elements using inexpensive stamping techniques.
It can therefore be appreciated that fabricating link elements having variably changing visual properties and/or variably changing cross sections, to provide uniquely shaped building blocks for producing exciting and beautiful visual effects in the construction of rope chains, may simultaneously have the synergistic effect of making such physically altered link elements, and thus the rope chains from which they are made, less expensive.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a gapped link element, and a method of manufacturing such a gapped link element, of the type that is assembled with other link elements to form a rope chain, each of the link elements being generally C-shaped in configuration to define a gap between facing ends thereof, each of the link elements having a first major surface, an opposite second major surface, an interior edge, and an exterior edge, the method comprising: providing a sheet of material having a plurality of regions, adjacent ones of which exhibit different visual properties; and stamping, with a stamping device, a link element from the sheet, the link element so produced comprising segments of at least two of the plurality of regions.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a jewelry rope chain link element of the type that is assembled with other link elements to form a rope chain, each of the link elements being generally C-shaped in configuration to define a gap between facing ends thereof, the link element comprising: a first major surface; an opposite second major surface; an interior edge; and an exterior edge; wherein the link element is manufactured by: providing a sheet of material; and stamping, with a stamping device, a link element from the sheet, the link element so produced departing from the shape and configuration of a standard link element by the provision of voids therein formed by the stamping device.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a jewelry rope chain link element of the type that is assembled with other link elements to form a rope chain, each of the link elements being generally C-shaped in configuration to define a gap between facing ends thereof, the link element comprising: a first major surface; an opposite second major surface; an interior edge; and an exterior edge; wherein the link element is manufactured by: providing a sheet of material; and stamping, with a stamping device, a link element from the sheet, the link element so produced departing from the annular shape and configuration of a standard link element.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a link element of the type that are assembled to form a rope chain, the method comprising: providing a sheet of material having a plurality of regions, adjacent ones of which exhibit different visual properties; stamping, with a stamping device, an elongated, substantially rectangular, strip of the material, the strip having a prescribed length, width, and thickness; and forming the strip into a rope chain link element having a generally C-shaped configuration, a first major surface, an opposite second major surface, an interior edge, and an exterior edge, the link element so produced comprising portions of the sheet of material that exhibit at least two of the visual properties.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a gapped link element of the type that is assembled with other link elements to form a rope chain, each of the link elements being generally C-shaped in configuration to define a gap between facing ends thereof, each of the link elements having a first major surface, an opposite second major surface, an interior edge, and an exterior edge, the method comprising: providing an elongated strip of bendable material having a left end, a right end, an elongated upper surface, an elongated lower surface, and elongated front surface, an elongated rear surface, and a surface ornamentation on at least one of the elongated surfaces; and bending the strip into a generally C-shaped configuration until the left and right ends face one another in a spaced relationship defining the gap between facing left and right ends. Optionally, the link element may have differently textured and/or colored upper and lower major surfaces.
Instead of, or in addition to, differently textured and/or colored major surfaces, the two major surfaces may exhibit differently textured or colored portions, e.g., one portion of a link element may be shiny and yellow gold in color, while another portion may have a sandblasted, frosted, patterned, matte, or simulated diamond cut finish appearance and white gold in color. Also, either major surface may be of a uniform shape and/or texture, while the other major surface is portioned as described.
A further variation has a portion of the link at a reduced annular width, which reduces material but nonetheless gives the appearance of a rope chain having an effective diameter the same as if the reduced portion was of normal annular width.
The interconnecting link elements may have differently colored, patterned, and/or textured portions, and may have different irregular or patterned shapes or shaped portions. For example, some or all of the link elements making up the rope chain may be partially or wholly smoothly circular with patterned major surfaces, circular with peripheral undulations, circular with peripheral gear-like teeth, circular with gouges or notches, may have constantly varying cross sectional portions, and/or may have an overall configuration that is star shaped, baguette shaped, square shaped, rectangular shaped, oval shaped, diamond shaped, D-shaped, heart shaped, etc. Similarly, different portions of each link element may have such different physical shapes.
A jewelry rope chain link element constructed in accordance with the invention preferably, but not necessarily, may have the shape and configuration of a standard annular link element with at least a portion removed and has a maximum link width equal to that of a similar standard annular link element without any portion removed.
Similarly, a length of rope chain employing link elements as described in the previous paragraph, has an effective maximum diameter equal to that of a similar length of rope chain constructed of solid, standard size annular link elements without any portion removed.
From the viewpoint of a finished length of rope chain, the invention provides a further improvement over the prior art, wherein: each link element in the length of rope chain may comprise a link portion exhibiting a first visual property, and another link portion exhibiting a second, different, visual property; whereby, when viewed from one side of the length of rope chain, the appearance of one of the helical rope strands is different than the appearance of the other, adjacent, helical rope strand along the length of rope chain.
For example, in one variation, the one helical rope strand is of a predetermined effective diameter, and the adjacent helical rope strand is of a different effective diameter than that of the one rope strand.
In another variation, the one helical rope strand has the shape of a helical cylindrical tube intertwined with the adjacent helical rope strand, and the adjacent helical rope strand has the shape of a helical cylindrical tube with an outer surface portion thereof cut away along the length of the helical cylindrical tube. The outer surface cutaway portion of the adjacent helical rope strand is formed during the stamping or die-cutting process.
When stamped from a sheet of material comprised of a number of edge-joined flat strips or regions, one helical rope strand may be a helical cylindrical tube displaying a particular color pattern and intertwined with the adjacent helical rope strand which may display the same or a different color pattern. For example, one helical rope strand may be of a solid color, while the adjacent helical rope strand may have an outer surface portion thereof of one color and an inner surface portion, adjacent a channel of the rope chain, of another color.
As a result of the various combinations possible in the manufacture of jewelry rope chains in accordance with the present invention, a virtually limitless number of different design possibilities exist, and preferred ones of such possibilities are shown and described herein. It is to be understood, however, that all combinations of: the number of interconnected link elements in the repeated pattern along the rope chain; solid or portioned coloration and/or texturing; different designs of the portioned regions of each major surface and/or side peripheral edges of the link elements; and different physical shape and/or visual properties as identified in this description may be employed in the manufacture of jewelry rope chains and are contemplated variations of the preferred embodiments specifically shown and described.